Columnist, The New York Times Magazine; Editorial Director, West Studios; Author, Magic and Loss

Back To The Beginning, The Mere Word

Richard Rorty's transformation of "survival of the fittest" to "whatever survives survives" is not in itself my favorite explanation, though I find it immensely satisfying, but it enacts a wholesome return to language away from the most rococo fantasies of science. In this case, a statement that looks to describe history and biology—controversially, no less—drops into a foundational locution, a tautology. Back to the beginning, the mere Word. Anytime an explanation, for anything, returns us to language, and its dynamics, I'm satisfied. Exhilarated.